(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a skeleton for umbrella tent, and more particularly to an umbrella tent skeleton that includes a flexible and telescopic portion that guides an operator to easily stretch the tent, and brace poles that may be folded by large angle into a collapsed position.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Conventional umbrella tents may be generally divided into three types, a first type of which is shown in FIG. 4 and has an externally stretched skeleton. This type of conventional umbrella tent skeleton includes a top hub 12xe2x80x2 to which multiple brace poles 11xe2x80x2 are pivotally connected to radially stretch by a predetermined angle, and a bottom hub 14xe2x80x2 to which inner ends of multiple stretch arms 15xe2x80x2 are pivotally connected to radially stretch by a predetermined angle and outer ends of the stretch arms 15xe2x80x2 are pivotally connected to a predetermined point on the brace poles. A guide rod 13xe2x80x2 extends through the top and the bottom hubs 12xe2x80x2 and 14xe2x80x2 such that the whole skeleton may be stretched like an umbrella skeleton by pulling the guide rod 13xe2x80x2 upward. In this type of umbrella tent skeleton the guide rod 13xe2x80x2 helps an operator to apply force correctly to stretch the tent more quickly. The guide rod 13xe2x80x2 is, however, located at a top of the tent and exposed to external environment, and is therefore subject to dangerous lightning strike. Moreover, the guide rod 13xe2x80x2 is in the form of a rigid stick that tends to bend or break if a force is improperly applied thereto to stretch the tent. A further disadvantage of this type of umbrella tent skeleton is that the brace poles 11xe2x80x2 are not foldable and would occupy a very large space even when the tent has been collapsed.
The second type of conventional umbrella tent is shown in FIG. 5. The skeleton of this type of tent includes a top hub 4 to which multiple brace poles 17 are pivotally connected to radially stretch by a predetermined angle, and a bottom hub 7 to which inner ends of multiple stretch arms 15 are pivotally connected to radially stretch by a predetermined angle and outer ends of the stretch arms 15 are pivotally connected to a union on the brace poles 17. The bottom hub 7 is slidably moved along a guide rod 8 that extends between the top and the bottom hubs 4 and 7. A spring lock 14 is provided on the bottom hub 7 to lock the bottom hub 7 in place on the guide rod 8 when the bottom hub 7 has been moved to a position to fully stretch the tent. The brace pole 17 each has a coupler 9 connected to an outer end for pivotally connecting an extension pole 18 thereto, so that the brace pole 17 has an extended working length. In this second type of umbrella tent skeleton the guide rod 8 helps an operator to apply force correctly to stretch the tent more quickly and is located inside the tent without the risk of dangerous lightning strike. However, the guide rod 8 is in the form of a rigid stick that tends to bend or break if a force is improperly applied thereto to stretch the tent. Moreover, the brace poles 17 and the extension poles 18 could be pivotally bent at the couplers 9 by about 180 degrees only. The extension poles 18 could be bent within the limited angle only in one direction, and would very possibly break if it is over bent or bent in a wrong direction.
FIGS. 6 and 7 shows the third type of conventional umbrella tent that includes a top hub 11A to which inner ends of multiple brace poles 141 are pivotally connected via first pivotal joints 131, and a bottom hub 12A to which inner ends of multiple stretch arms 142 are pivotally connected via second pivotal joints 133. An outer end of each brace pole 141 is provided with a support 135 and a coupler 136 to which an extension pole 143 is pivotally connected. An outer end of each stretch arm 142 is provided with a third joint 134 for pivotally connecting the stretch arm 142 to a union 132 on the brace pole 141. The bottom hub 12A has an insert 12A1 through which a pull rope 21 is threaded to extend between the top and the bottom hubs 11A, 12A and replace the conventional rigid guide rod. When the pull rope 21 is pulled upward from the top hub 11A, the skeleton is stretched. FIG. 7 illustrates a fully stretched tent of this third type. In this third type of conventional tent, the rigid guide rod is omitted and the problem of a broken guide rod is avoided. However, since an umbrella tent usually includes a very large skeleton that could not be easily stretched simply by pulling the unsteady pull rope 21. And again, the extension poles 143, like that in the second type of conventional tent, could be pivotally bent only within a limited angle and are therefore subject to easy break if a force is improperly applied to bend the extension poles. The tent of this type could not be easily stretched particularly when the operator is a child and not high enough to touch the pull rope 21 or bend the extension poles at proper points.
It is therefore desirable to develop an improved skeleton for umbrella tent to eliminate the drawbacks existing in the conventional umbrella tents.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved umbrella tent skeleton that mainly includes a top hub to which multiple brace poles are radially and pivotally connected to stretch by a predetermined angle; a bottom hub to which multiple stretch arms are radially and pivotally connected to stretch by a predetermined angle, and outer ends of these stretch arms are separately pivotally connected to a predetermined point on the brace poles; a flexible telescopic portion located between the top and the bottom hubs and consisting of multiple sections in the form of hollow truncated cones; and a pull rope extending through the telescopic portion with an upper end fixed to the top hub and a lower end hanging from the bottom hub to connect to a ring handle. By pulling the pull rope downward, the telescopic portion is folded to easily cause the stretch arms and the brace poles to move into a stretched position to set up the tent.
The telescopic portion of the skeleton has the function of a guide rod to guide an operator to apply force correctly in stretching the tent. Moreover, the telescopic portion forms a flexible long member that can be conveniently operated and would not be easily bent or broken due to improperly applied force to it. The telescopic portion is therefore very suitable for a large-scaled tent.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an umbrella tent skeleton that includes a coupling structure for pivotally connecting an extension pole to a brace pole, such that the extension pole could be bent relative to the brace pole by 360 degrees in forward or reverse direction to avoid the problem of a broken extension pole. The coupling structure for this purpose includes tenons provided on opposite sides of the brace and the extension poles near their outer and inner ends, respectively, and a coupler provided at opposite sides of each end with two sliding slots. The coupler is connected to and between two adjacent brace pole and extension pole by engaging the tenons into the sliding slots, so that the two poles may be locked into an extended position or be released to pivotally bend by 360 degrees into a folded position.